By James Zagrodnik

Pickleball’s origin dates back to 1965(www.usapa.org) and was initially pre-sented in the Journal of Physical Edu-

cation and Recreation in 1976 by Rex Davis in a short one-page introduction to the game’s history, rules, scoring and penalty zone. Since then, the rules of pickleball have changed very little but advancements in paddle technology and ball construction have recently transformed as rapidly as pickleball’s popularity. Accord-ing to the United States Pickleball Association(USAPA 2018; www.usapa.org), pickleball is currently one of America’s fastest-growing sportsand is estimated to have 2.8 million players as of 2017 and a growth rate of 1.8% from 2014 to 2015.

“You DinkedMy Battleship”:

22 Strategies

The Dinking Game for Pickleball

Skill Learning

Volume 32 ∙ July/August 23

24 Strategies

One contributing factor to this recent growth could be how easy it is to learn (Leach & Colgate, 1982). With a large rac-quet face area and short handle, a beginner’s success rate at hit-ting the ball is very high. Th e ball is larger, lighter, and typi-cally moves at a slower rate than balls in all the other racquet sports, which also allows for greater reaction time and aides in decision making and capacity to have ball contact. Th e under-handed swinging motion of the arm and paddle for most shots may also assist beginners in striking the ball more consistently than many other racquet-sport swing types. In addition, the court is relatively small — the size of a badminton court. Th us, when playing doubles, as the game is most often played, limited

A second contributing factor to pickleball’s success may be the growing population of senior citizens in the United States and the popularity of pickleball in this age group. Pickleball has become a serious leisure recreation activity for older adults and has shown to have a positive relationship with subjective well-being, which may add signifi cant value to older adults’ lives, thereby contributing to successful aging (Heo, Ryu, Hyunmin, Chan Hyung Kim, & Rhee, 2018). Th e U.S. population over the age of 65 is expanding faster than the growth of the total population: 15.1% for older adults as compared to 9.7% for to-tal population growth (Werner & U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Th e USAPA identifi es that 42.7% of its members who are core participants are 65+ years old (defi ned as playing more than eight times a year) as compared to 31.8% for 55- to 64-year-olds, 19.2% for 35- to 54-year-olds, and 6.3% for those 34 and younger.

However, the reverse trend is seen when examining casual pickleball players (defi ned as those who play less than eight times a year). Individuals under 34 are more causal players than any other group, with those who are six to 17 years old repre-senting 18.5% of all causal players in the United States. Th us, it appears that older adults currently participate in pickleball more frequently than younger populations. Th ese trends could change as pickleball is introduced into more physical education learning environments.

Tsuda and Chang (2019) presented sequencing movement tasks to teach one-handed sidearm striking patterns with a short implement. Physical educators using these strategies in conjunction with pickleball, which is a short-implement rac-quet sport, may enhance kindergarten through second grad-ers’ one-handed sidearm striking skills more easily than many other racquet sports, and also establish movement patterns that can lead to positive transfer for more complex racquet sports later in life. Mitchell and Oslin (1999) demonstrated tactical transfer learning from badminton to pickleball, suggesting that badminton strategies were successfully applied to the game of pickleball. Research on the opposite eff ect is lacking, but it could be suggested that a similar skill transfer could occur from pickleball to other racquet sports. If physical educators de-velop strategies to teach pickleball sooner (see Tsuda & Chang, 2019) they may also create a positive transfer of skills and tacti-cal strategies when teaching more complex racquet games. Re-search demonstrating these theories is much needed in physical education pedagogy in relation to pickleball.

Despite the lack of research related to pickleball and pick-leball-teaching methodologies, the recent growth of pickle-ball across the United States, the relative ease to learn to play the game, the potential to possibly transfer skills to other rac-quet sports, and the opportunity for lifelong participation in this game should convince physical educators that they should consider pickleball as part of their curriculum. However, ideas on how to teach pickleball are lacking. To begin providing pickleball curriculum ideas and proper skill development, this article explains the dink shot and shares a game that was created to enhance the dinking skills of students called “You Dinked My Battleship.”

The relative ease to learn the basic skills

to play pickleball allows people to feel accomplished

and successful very early on in their

learning progression, thus encouraging

continued participation and willingness to

play the game.

mobility and court coverage is required, resulting in more time to eff ectively make a good stroke on the ball. Adding to skill learning can be that the net is lower than a tennis net, which possibly allows for high rates of success for beginners to get the ball over the net and in play.

It should also be mentioned that the social nature of pick-leball to have fun and be active lends itself to welcoming all people no matter their skill level. Th e relative ease to learn the basic skills to play pickleball allows people to feel accomplished and successful very early on in their learning progression, thus encouraging continued participation and willingness to play the game.

Volume 32 ∙ July/August 25

The DinkWhen teaching pickleball, physical educators should be

aware that the game requires both power and finesse shots to be played at the right time success. (For teachers who are interested in learning pickleball basics or are unsure how to teach pickle-ball, the author recommends contacting a local pickleball am-bassador for a school visit. The ambassador may be able to pro-vide lessons for the teacher and the students and can be found using this link: https://www.usapa.org/usapa-ambassadors/.) One of the critical skills in pickleball is known as the dink shot and relies heavily on finesse. The dink shot occurs when one player tries to get the ball to land in the opposing team’s “kitchen” (the area between the non-volley line and the net; i.e., the first seven feet from both sides of the net) while being slightly behind their own non-volley line. An ideal dink uti-lizes the continental grip (which is obtained when holding the racket as if it were an axe) to allow both forehand and backhand dinks to be performed without changing grip styles, clears ap-proximately 18″ over the net, and lands in the opposing kitchen. Where in the kitchen the dink lands will depend on where the opposing players are, how confident the dinker is in getting the ball closer to the net without giving the other team a potential advantage, and the amount of touch the player can place on the ball itself: if too hard, the dink is easily returned; if too soft, the ball may not even get over the net in the first place.

To be a good dinker, the player should be in the ‘ready’ ath-letic stance about one half step behind the non-volley line. As mentioned previously, they should be using the continental grip. A square or side stance can be used, although stance pref-erence is often established by each individual as he or she learns the skill. With either stance, the player should step (either a full or half step) with opposition and swing their arm in a small “U” motion while keeping the face of the paddle perpendicu-lar to the ground. A skill cue that can be utilized to help students learn the swing path is “rock the cradle,” similar to how a cradle will gen-tly rock back and forth. The swing is not a big swing, nor is it forceful; the follow-through should not go over one’s shoul-der as in a ground stroke swing. The goal is to help push or guide the ball back over the net with a focus on placement and ball height, not on power and pace. However, as dinking skill level improves, utilizing power and pace as strategic changes can be encouraged. The player’s dominant or nondominant hand can be used for the dink shot, or even switching hands mid-point is allowed.

A Dinking Game“You Dinked My Battleship” was ini-

tially created in a Methods of Teaching Elementary Teachers Physical Education

course with the objective of teaching students how to learn and perform the dink. As part of the course, the author dis-cussed and demonstrated numerous ways to make cross-cur-ricular connections in physical education, and the idea for “You Dinked My Battleship” came from incorporating World War II history. Since its inception, this game has been enjoyed by learners ranging from K–12 physical education students, ??? university-level physical education students, community play-ers, and even physical education teachers during workshops at regional conventions and seminars.

The essential equipment (other than a playing court, rac-quets and balls) to play “You Dinked My Battleship” includes six hula hoops and two poly spots per team of two players (games have been played with three or four per team, depend-ing on class size and space available) on each playing area/court. The game consists of a series of seven progressive challenges (or levels) that add difficulty. Games can be played that include all the rules or can leave some rules out, depending on students’ skill level or even to change the game dynamics from day to day and keep students focused and engaged. For a greater challenge, a teacher could enforce one set of rules for one team and assign their opponents a different set of rules.

Level 1: Battleships OnlyEach team places their hula hoops on their side of the net

in their “kitchen” area (see Figure 1 for a possible game setup). These hula hoops are their battleships. The goal is for each team to sink the battleships on the other side of the net before their own battleships are all sunk. This entry-level game allows stu-dents to become comfortable with the dink mechanics while having an observable goal to accomplish: getting the ball to land in a specific area (the hula hoop). The game begins by din-king one time on each side as a ready phase, then after that

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tockphoto/B

ill Oxford

26 Strategies

teams try to get the ball to land in the hula hoops. Rallies are encouraged over start-and-stop play. Thus, a team may get to sink multiple hula hoops before the point is over. A rally is over when the ball lands out of bounds, cannot be returned, or does not go over the net. After each rally, each team removes the hula hoop(s) that were sunk. Game play continues until one team has all of their battleships sunk. Teams can reset and play as many times as allowed.

Level 2: Land MinesGame play occurs with the addition of a penalty if a player

dinks the ball past the non-volley line. When a dink goes too far, the player has hit a land mine and must remove one of their own team’s battleships. Similarly, if the player chooses to play in a rally, he or she can have multiple land mines happen in one rally.

Level 3: KamikazesThis level consists of the addition of a penalty. If the ball

does not go over the net, the team loses one of their battleships. This option does not allow for multiples in a rally because if the ball fails to get over the net the rally is over.

Level 4: Doolittle RaidersThis level has the addition of a reward. Teams can place two

(fewer or more depending on teacher or student choice) poly spots anywhere they would like on the opposite side of the net (or for a greater challenge, on their own side of the net for their opponents) to hit. While dinking, if a team hits a poly spot on the opposite side of the net, they get one of their battleships back. This can be included in a rally format and thus a team could earn multiple battleships back in one rally if they hit a poly spot multiple times. Some students strategize by placing

Figure 1. “You Dinked My Battleship” gameplay setup. The yellow poly spots represent the Doolittle Raiders variation.

Volume 32 ∙ July/August 27

a poly spot inside a hula hoop, so if they hit the poly spot they force their opponents to remove the hula hoop while they get to add one to their side of the kitchen.

Level 5: Air ForceThis level has a protection emphasis. Players can protect

their battleships by hitting the ball in the air before it lands in a hula hoop. It is important to note that this is not a good strategy when playing pickleball, but students have really liked the idea of being able to protect their battleships when they can. So the teacher must make sure to emphasize that doing this is okay for “You Dinked My Battleship” but most often not appropriate in a traditional game of pickleball be-cause if you volley a dink it often leads to the other team having the advantage (typically because it results in a poor shot return, setting up the other team for an aggressive return of their own). It is also best to incorporate official pickleball rules with this version so that students cannot go into the kitchen and volley the ball to protect their battleships. Other-wise bad habits will be formed when it comes to playing real pickleball because players are not allowed to be in the kitchen and volley the ball.

Level 6: Wing ManThis level introduces play with two balls going at the same

time. This usually works best if the balls are hit back and forth directly across from each person. It is a fun way to get more op-portunities to learn and practice by increasing striking percent-age. Typically, when one ball bounces out of bound, fails to go over the net, or cannot be returned, play is stopped and battle-ships are removed or added (if necessary) and then play starts again until all the battleships are sunk.

Level 7: CrossfireThis is played similarly to “Wing Man” but the balls are hit

diagonally. This is a great way to really practice a dink shot to get out of a tough situation because the ideal strategy for when a ball is hit really close to the net is to go diagonal, not straight over the net, so the ball has more distance and time to get up over the net. Some students invented a modification for this level they called “Fireball,” where if the two balls hit each other in the air a sudden-death winner takes all single-ball rally oc-curs. In this case, play occurs as previous versions of “You Din-ked My Battleship” with only one ball, and the winner is de-clared as soon as the ball fails to go over the net, is hit out of bounds, or cannot be returned by the opposing team no matter how many battleships are left on their side.

For competitive students, “You Dinked My Battleship” offers a concentrated focus on enhancing what is considered the most important and difficult-to-master shot in pickleball. Upper-level players are often overserved, playing dinks for over 75% of their points, as they patiently wait for their opponents to leave an opening or make an unforced error. Older players who just seem to stand in one spot often beat their teenage oppo-nents who are running all over the place thanks to well-placed

dinks. The quickest way up the skill ladder in pickleball is to get early and frequent practice with the dink. “You Dinked My Battleship” provides these competitors the challenge of game play while focusing on enhancing their skill one particular shot. For the less competitive students, “You Dinked My Battleship” allows for the social aspects of pickleball to be played out with high rates of encouragement, trial and error acceptance, and a more casual approach to competition.

Students have been observed developing self-evaluation and teamwork skills by expressing how and why they lost a battle-ship and working together as both teammates and opponents to reduce their own errors. Thus, this game has demonstrated not just individualized skill enhancement but also encourages the social nature of pickleball in that players help one another get better.

Incorporating the Game in Physical Education

This game can be played on pickleball courts, modified ten-nis or badminton courts, basketball gym floors, and even car-peted areas. For those with limited gym space and many stu-dents, a good modification is to string a net across the court and not play with sideline boundaries except those implicitly devised by the teams playing against each other. This method allows for several teams to play in smaller areas while still getting the chance to learn and practice their dinks. The class could even be split into two large teams for a “You Dinked My Battleship” extreme challenge! This game can also be adapted with different ball types (balloons, tennis balls, bouncy balls, runner balls, and others) and racquet types (tennis, racquet-ball, squash, and paddles) to include students with differing ability levels and provide modifications or challenges. In ad-dition, students with developmental disabilities can also par-ticipate in this game with simple modifications. For example, playing the game without the net, using tennis racquets, al-lowing multiple bounces, or using balloons instead of pickle-balls are just a few easy ways to get all students participating and engaged.

With this game, teachers can also structure their lessons to include ready positions, moving up together and in parallel to the non-volley line, how to slide and cover for each other when teammates get pulled one way or the other, teamwork, com-munication, how to come back when down (in some classes a teacher could purposefully start a game with one team hav-ing more battleships than another), and how to maintain focus when ahead and seal the victory. Thus, teachers can hide addi-tional learning objectives by using “You Dinked My Battleship” as a motivator to practice and play.

This game lends itself to be played as a pre- or post-class activity or can be used as an instant activity while the class waits for others to dress out and arrive to the gym, needing limited oversight once the rules are learned and established. It is also a fast-paced game that can be played tournament style, such as round robin, double elimination, or a whistle-stop tournament.

28 Strategies

SummaryWith the general growth of pickleball across the country,

and six- to 17-year-olds representing the largest group of casual players in pickleball, physical education teachers need more re-sources and research on pickleball methodologies, curriculum development, and eff ects on skill development. Particularly as individuals age, having skills that promote wellness and lifetime physical activity is critical, and pickleball is a game that encom-

passes skill sets that may promote lifelong participation. In ad-dition, as a cross-generational lifetime activity, pickleball may uniquely contribute to younger generations developing more positive attitudes toward older adults (Reynolds, Daum, Frim-ming, & Ehlman, 2016), and perhaps even toward their percep-tions of aging later in life.

“You Dinked My Battleship” can be incorporated into the physical education curriculum no matter the developmental level of students, which may help establish sound movement patterns for successful pickleball play and transcend to life-long participation for generations to come. Th is fun and excit-ing game can help learners focus on the dink with high rates of active learning time. It allows for self-discovery learning while also requiring patience and strategy. Teachers can use the game in self-evaluation, peer-evaluation and teacher evaluation methods to assess the psychomotor, cognitive and aff ective do-mains. So, grab a paddle and some battleships! Good luck din-king before you get sunk!

ReferencesDavis, R. (1976). Pickle ball. Journal of Physical Education and Recre-

ation, 47(6), 48–48. doi:10.1080/00971170.1976.10614226Heo, J., Ryu, J., Hyunmin, Y., Chan Hyung Kim, A., & Rhee, Y.

(2018). Importance of playing pickleball for older adults’ subjective well-being: A serious leisure perspective. � e Journal of Positive Psy-chology, 13(1), 67–77. doi:10.1080/17439760.2017.1374438

Leach, J., & Colgate, J. A. (1982). Pickle-ball—For all Ages. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 53(6), 84–86. doi:10.1080/07303084.1982.10629442

Mitchell, S. A., & Oslin, J. L. (1999). An investigation of tactical trans-fer in net games. European Journal of Physical Education, 4(2), 162–172. doi:10.1080/1740898990040205

Reynolds, E., Daum, D. N., Frimming, R., & Ehlman, K. (2016). Pickleball transcends the generations in southwest Indiana: A uni-versity and area agency on aging partnership changing the face of aging. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 14(3), 242– 251. doi:10.1080/15350770.2016.1194730

Tsuda, E., & Chang, S. H. (2019). Teaching one-handed sidearm striking to young children: sequencing movement tasks. Strategies, 31(1), 16–23. doi:10.1080/08924562.2018.1538831

United States of America Pickleball Association (2018). 2018 pick-leball fact sheet. Retrieved from https://www.usapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-Pickleball-Fact-Sheet-12_31_20172.pdf

Werner, C. A., & U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). � e older population: 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Econom-ics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. S

James Zagrodnik (jameszagrodnik@weber.edu) is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Health Promotion and Human Perfor-mance at Weber State University in Ogden, UT.

“You Dinked My Battleship” can be

incorporated into the physical education

curriculum no matter the developmental level of students, which may help establish sound

movement patterns for successful pickleball play and transcend to

lifelong participation for generations to come. This fun and exciting

game can help learners focus on the dink with

high rates of active learning time.